The present invention relates generally to supporting devices for garments and more specifically to a supporting device for trousers which transfers the weight of the trousers to the small of the back and the hips of the wearer.
The cut of many trousers, for both males and females, results in a waistband which is positioned approximately at the waist of the wearer, i.e., above the wearer's hips. Whether or not a belt is worn, the full weight of the trousers must be supported from the waistband. The waistband must be tightened against the stomach sufficiently to support the trousers, or the trousers will have a tendency to slip down so that the waistband rests on the wearer's hips. These trousers often have an unfashionable look if they are worn other than where intended, and can be unsightly and uncomfortable when a belt is tightly cinched around the waist.
Both problems are especially acute for many overweight persons, especially those with protruding stomachs. In order to support the trousers in approximately the desired position, the waistband must be belted quite tightly, or the front portion of the trousers raised to where they will rest on the upper side of the stomach bulge. Otherwise, the waistband of the trousers tends to slip down in front to a position generally below the stomach bulge. This results in the trousers hanging improperly throughout their length, with the waistband being lower in front than in back.
Attempts have been made to overcome this problem in the past. Perhaps the best known example is the development of suspenders, which transfer the weight of the trousers to the shoulders while holding the waistband relatively level. The use of suspenders has a number of obvious drawbacks, including the fact that the suspenders are visible unless covered by a coat or other garment. Further drawbacks include the fact that the elastic material which generally must be used for suspenders can stretch or can be pulled out of shape, and the trousers may "ride up" in back when the wearer bends over. Additionally, many people are uncomfortable with the fact that the weight is being supported from the shoulders rather than at the waist/hip region of the body.
Various attempts have been made to provide a supporting device in which the weight of the trousers is supported on the hips while the waistband remains at the wearer's waist level. These attempts have included, for example, the use of long flexible rods which wrap around the wearer's hips and attach to the waistband at various points. Other attempted solutions to this problem include the use of a lower belt worn around the hips. Such an apparatus employs a plurality of stiff vertical members coupled to a second belt, which is in turn attached to the waistband of the trousers.
The solutions proposed by the prior art have several important drawbacks. Such previous solutions are difficult to adjust to various sizes. Devices presently known in the art are difficult and cumbersome to use, and are complicated in construction. This complexity deters the use of such devices, and makes them expensive to produce. Present devices are generally uncomfortable to wear, and some have relatively large mechanical parts which show through the trousers.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a trouser support device which causes the weight of the trousers to rest partially on the wearer's hips and partially in the small of the back. It is a further object that such a trouser support device be simple to put on, comfortable to wear and inexpensive to manufacture. It is another object that such a support device not be visible when used.
In order to obtain these and other objects, a device constructed in accordance with the present invention has a flexible belt which is suitable for wearing about a person's hips. Two stiff support arms are pivotally coupled to either side of such belt, and are also pivotally coupled respectively a plastic strip on each side enclosed within to the waistband of the trousers. The weight of the trousers is transferred in part through the support arms and support belt to the hips of the wearer, and in part to the small of the wearer's back through the waistband of the trousers.